CIGAR BOX BULLETIN

Volume 54, No. 31.      November 29, 2006

On a balmy November day our President SAM MARASSO called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM sharp. A brief search for BARRY NOVA who was supposed to pledge was fruitless, but old reliable standby pledge leader LOU CHIAPPETTA was quickly found and did the honors flawlessly. JOHN DeCSEPEL was our song leader ably assisted on the piano by PETER RYAN. We sang (if you want to call it that) God Bless America , Mary's a Grand Old Name, and Swanee. Recording Secretary FRED BROOKS then gave us his traditional blow by blow account of last week's meeting. He concluded with a story about a nun in an airport bar. Corresponding Secretary BILL DYNAN, not to be outdone, followed up with a story about a memorial mass for a Catholic dog.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: DICK HERMANCE gave a heartwarming memorial for our old friend HENRY JACOBSEN who died on November 25 at age 95. Henry was an active RMA member who was also a great mover and shaker in his community, particularly in the Rotary Club of Byram-Cos Cob. May he rest in peace. President MARASSO reminded us all that there will be no RMA meetings on winter days when the Greenwich schools are closed on account of inclement weather. Please keep this in mind. MIKE RYAN reported that the Salvation Army bell ringers had a banner first weekend with high collection returns. There are still four weekends to go and there are several open slots to be filled by volunteers. AV RIVEL invited all new members who had not yet been photographed to see him for an addition to the RMA Rogues Gallery. CARL VAN AKEN reported that there is a free lunch after all! Next week the Investment Club will hear a gent from Westport who will explain How to make money without effort. Carl said that this astonishing scheme involves taking out an insurance policy on one's life with the man from Westport as the beneficiary. You then are rewarded for your trouble with a large sum of money paid up front. Get it?

RETURNEES: WARREN LEIBFRIED came back from Vero Beach, JOHN SEEL from Houston, REID McINTYRE from Phoenix, BRIAN FORROW from Boston, BOB STARR from NH and VT, and CARL VAN AKEN from India.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: VISITING: PHIL HAHN reported (in the absence of CHUCK STANDARD) on the condition of GENE GORMLEY, JIM ROGERS, JACK GARDNER, and LANDY PRESTO. Hang in there fellows and come back soon! PROGRAM: JOHN DeCSEPEL discussed today's speaker (see below) and said that next week we will remember Pearl Harbor with presentations by CHUCK STANDARD and BILL CORDNER. John then discussed an issue he and this writer find hard to understand. Why are so many people leaving right after the meeting and before hearing the speaker? Or even worse, through the side-door during the speaker's presentation? We have had fantastic speakers in recent months and it is incomprehensible that about 25% of the membership prefers the meeting over listening to the speaker. If you have to leave, please sneak out through the back door. It is very disconcerting for a speaker to see people leaving in the middle of their presentation. MEMBERSHIP: JIM FAHY reported 158 members present with two candidates: JOHN MARTIN and PETER DAPUZZO and three guests; HERMAN BRICKMAN g.o. CARL RICHTER, WIN ADKINS g.o. BARRY NOVA, and BOB MEYER g.o. JIM McKAY. Birthdays: DAVID DOWNS 77, MIKE PARISE 89, DON POWERS 80, GIG CHELWICK 81, FRED BROOKS 72, TED SPOOL 76, and PETER and PAUL SCHEURITZEL 80 (who was born first?). Many happy returns friends! SPECIAL EVENTS: TOM HEALY discussed the outings listed below. ERF PORTER then gave an impromptu appearance on behalf of the Greenwich Choral Society. The concerts to be given at 3 PM on Saturday and Sunday are sold out, but RMA’ers will receive a 20% discount on tickets for the 7:00 PM Sunday evening concert. Contact BARRY NOVA. VOLUNTEER: FRANK FLORES reported that for the week ending 11/29, 80 men reported to have given 856 hours to Outside Agencies and 25 men gave 160 hours to RMA duties.

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: BRIDGE: KEITH HEYMAN reported the Bridge scores for 11/22/06: KURT SCHAFFIR 1290, BILL CORDNER 1080 and GENE SCHWARTZ 950. BOWLING: DOM DePASQUALE reported the scores for 11/28/06: LINN GRIM 161, DOM DePASQUALE 162, and DOM COGLIANDRO 187. TENNIS: DICK BARTHOLOMEW reported the tennis scores for 11/29/06: Court 1, MIKE SMITH 18; Court 3, JOHN HOFFMAN 15 games. Friday's Captains are: GEORGE EVANS, DANA LOW, and TONY RIGGI. Leaders to date are: Group 1 - PAUL LEVINE 71.8% of games won, MIKE SMITH 59.7% and TOM HEALY 57.3%. Group 2 - FRANK LEE 59.4%, JACK SWEGER 58.9% and ERF PORTER 58.3%.

TODAY'S SPEAKER: ANTHONY JOHNSON, Executive Director of the Greenwich Housing Authority was introduced by JOHN PHILLIPS. Speaker who prefers to be called Tony has a most interesting background, starting out as an accountant for Illinois Central and American Airlines, he moved into real estate management, first for his own account, later for Sears and then for the Chicago Housing Authority, from there he landed here in town. The Greenwich Housing Authority was established when Federal legislation for housing of veterans post WW II required a mechanism to develop and manage lower cost housing in town. Now with about 1100 units the Authority is the largest real estate owner in town. People who earn less than 60% of the median income in our area can apply for housing. As we all know the situation in Greenwich is extremely unusual with real estate values constantly rising, many town workers, hospital employees, teachers etc. are priced out of the market. The average annual income in our town is $125,000! We not only need housing for low income people, but perhaps even more for people of modest income who are working here. Speaker gave an overview of the various properties the Authority owns and revealed (apparently for the first time) what his plans are for the immediate future, how he wants to upgrade existing buildings, develop parcels of land owned, and by leveraging land values, develop new units in various nooks and crannies of our town, sometimes in the midst of areas that are now heavily gentrified. The Authority is rich in terms of land values and the challenge is how to unleash economic value to create more housing. It has a budget of $12 million and no funding from the town. It is the only institution in Greenwich that can develop affordable housing. Speaker showed several aerial photographs of Quarry Knoll and McKinney Terrace and revealed his plans for these properties. He added that he would like to redevelop several more. This writer was left with the impression that we were introduced to a very talented leader with a strongly businesslike non-bureaucratic approach. A very interesting presentation.

G. PETER SCHIEFERDECKER, Editor.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Open to all RMA Members, their Ladies and guests.
Ticket exchange via the Bulletin Board only.

Dec. 5, Tues, Radio City Xmas show. Lunch Le Rivage, $ 85.pp. lvs St. Cath 9:15 AM - sold out.

March 22,Thurs, NY Philharmonic open rehearsal. Lunch Pane Vino, $70 pp. lvs St Cath 8:15 AM

NEXT WEEK

We will remember Pearl Harbor with presentations by CHUCK STANDARD and BILL CORDNER